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Its my understanding that Mezcal and Tequilla are essentiall the same thing.

The Blue Agave is dug up (with very cool special purpose shovel), cooked, ground up into mash and distilled like all other spirits. Then if sold unaged its Silver, aged a few years as Reposado and long aged in wood casks as Añejo or very old Añejo. that Mexico produces this spirit primarilly in Tequilla, Mexico. Think of wine from Bordeaux or Champange or Parma....

So you'll find that silver Tequilla tasts exactly like Mexcal except for the terrior.

In a very deep essence, yes not that far off...but almost like saying Jack Daniels tastes just like a Makers Mark, or Rye is basically Bourbon.

Actually, any time an agave-based distillate is made, it is called mezcal; thus, all tequilas qualify. Tequila is a region, like Champagne or Cognac. The clichéd notion of gusanos (worms) in the bottle has no place in a serious conversation about true mezcal.

The art of distillation is in no place more evident than in the palenques (stills) of Oaxaca, where indigenous culture is being preserved, pre-organic practices are being protected and fair trade micro-economies are being created – one village at a time, but no longer...

Using strictly natural, rustic and pure processes over five hundred years old, the village palenquero (maker) captures the true body and spirit of mezcal with only two ingredients: the heart of the maguey (agave), and 10% pure water added only to the fermentation.

With the leaves removed, The hearts of maguey are roasted over hot stones covered with maguey fiber and earth in a conical pit in the ground for three to five days. They are then ground to a mash using horse-powered stone mills or hand held mallets, followed by a long period of natural, ambient fermentation in wooden vats (14 to 30 days), and finally distilled twice, very slowly, in wood-fired clay or copper stills. - This is the main difference in the process.

Some tips to spot the good ones:
Shake the bottle and see if bubbles arise – they should, unless it is a mezcal with more than 55% alcohol content, in which case the bubbles only arise when you stir it.
Do not buy mezcal that is reposado or anejado in barrels – the wood destroys the distinct flavors and aromas of the mezcal.
Rub a drop of mezcal between your fingers to evaporate it – the scent should be of cooked agave

But of course, it's all about the taste after all.

Originally Posted by Mucho Bocho

Its my understanding that Mezcal and Tequilla are essentiall the same thing.

The Blue Agave is dug up (with very cool special purpose shovel), cooked, ground up into mash and distilled like all other spirits. Then if sold unaged its Silver, aged a few years as Reposado and long aged in wood casks as Añejo or very old Añejo. that Mexico produces this spirit primarilly in Tequilla, Mexico. Think of wine from Bordeaux or Champange or Parma....

So you'll find that silver Tequilla tasts exactly like Mexcal except for the terrior.